At the Pumpkin Patch!

He keeps asking to go back "to the farm".

I don't blame him, it was kind of a dreamy experience. October at its absolute finest.

First of all, it was cold. The temperature was 45 degrees when we arrived at Wargo's Pumpkin Patch last weekend, and we did all the things that you do in October at a Pumpkin Patch. We drank muscadine cider, took a brisk hayride, fed the rowdy goats, and let Everett pick out a zillion pumpkins because they were like $1 each. Oh, and that doesn't include the 15 minutes that I sat in reverent silence and relished the glory of my Styrofoam cup of hot boiled peanuts. Now if you aren't from the south, I forgive you for not knowing what on earth that is. But I wish for you to know. It has been years since I tasted the steamy, salty glorious treat that is the hot boiled peanut, and oh heavens. I already want more. Correction, need more.

To be honest, just a little over a month ago, I didn't think our little family would make it to the pumpkin patch this year. I was having trouble at the end of our New York stint, and with all the contractions and pressure I was feeling, just walking was a real challenge. And I remember thinking, "I won't even be able to accompany my son to do something special like the pumpkin patch!" I know that sounds a little pathetic and morbid, but I've really been making it my mission to do special things with Everett and Stevie while we are still a family of 3. And the thought of not being able to do something like this just seemed so sad and ridiculous, because I am a healthy person! I shouldn't be having so much trouble just being pregnant! Anyway thankfully, I am feeling much more rested and, you know, able to walk (ha!), so making it to the pumpkin patch actually felt like a real victory for me. And for us. And for fall.

Of course, the joke is sort of on all of us here in Georgia, because suddenly the temperatures have jumped back up into the 80's and we are all wearing sandals again. Why, Georgia - why?!!

Have you made it out to a pumpkin patch this fall? What's your favorite part of the whole experience? xox

Outfit Details:
Blanket Scarf (borrowed from my sis, similar here and here), Free People hat (past season, similar here), Gap Maternity Shirt, Gap Maternity Jeans, Anthropologie Sweater (past season, similar here), Frye Boots (on sale here!)

ASOS Oversize Scarf

ALDO Felt Hat

Gap Maternity Top

Gap Maternity Jeans

Anthropologie Cardigan

Frye Harness Boots

P.S. - Many, many thanks to Julianne who Instagram direct messaged me about this particular farm - such an awesome recommendation! You guys, please reach out on Instagram - I would love to connect with you!

Toddler Date at the Zoo!

Last weekend we paid Zoo Atlanta a little visit with Everett's "friend" (we say girlfriend, but don't want to be too obviously pushy... who am I kidding??) The last time I took Everett to the zoo, he wasn't that into it, so I'm glad that this time around he was super excited and engaged. He absolutely loved the giraffes and elephants, and kept yelling "MORE ANIMALS!" after each animal exhibit. We did a lot of the "extra" zoo stuff, like feeding the giraffes and riding the train and spinning on the Merry Go Round. It's so much fun going places like the Zoo with kids, because it makes you feel alive again. It makes you remember how freaking cool it is that these animals live on the Earth, so enormous and beautiful and exotic.

A few (alright, more than a few) pictures below of our time at the zoo with friends and Everett's "friend" :)

Preparing to feed the giraffes. Finley wasn't so sure.

Amazing!!! So so cool!

This is my favorite thing ever. Look at my happy blonde boys :)

Kind of a lame/blurry photo, I know, but he was really into the gorillas.

He was also really into baby Hollen, sweet Finley's new little sis.

The Merry Go Round! I stayed on for approximately 3 minutes before leaping off due to nausea. I think I freaked out the Merry Go Round attendant.

Just so you know, about half the photos I ever take have Everett doing something like this. It's not always rainbow and sunshine and laughter. Sometimes it's attitude, discipline and coping mechanisms.

And then we rode the choo choo train!

I'm dying here. WE DID NOT MAKE THEM DO THIS. It just came natural.

We had such a great day at the zoo (even though it was like 150 degrees and I was having mild heat stroke), and it made me reeeeeelly excited about taking Everett to Disney World in the fall. He did so great with all the exhibits and I just know he will be absolutely dumbfounded at all the whimsical fantastic-ness of The Magic Kingdom.

We absolutely love Zoo Atlanta and we will have to make a return trip in the fall. Because of the heat on this particular day, we didn't get to see the lions or the elephants because they were hiding out in their dens. I don't blame them. If I had a lair, I would milk that. Especially in this insane Georgia heat/humidity.

How are you enjoying your summer with your family? Any fun family ideas you can offer? We want to keep trying fun activities as a family of three before we have another little person arrive this winter! xox

P.S. I am wearing this Tart Maternity dress and this Clement cuff (c/o Le Tote), and these Anthropologie earrings and sandals. Everett is wearing this top from and these shorts from Old Navy, and Stevie is wearing who knows what. I should probably shop for him a little more.

When it rains in Georgia.

It rained again yesterday.

I don't mind at all.

There's just something about a thunderous Georgia rain storm. It gives me goosebumps and eases my tension and calms me to the bone, all at once. I was born and raised here, so there's something intrinsically centering about the sopping mess of a rain storm that makes me feel at home; this sense of cleansing peace as the rain streams down the glass panes and rinses away the angst.

We are all from somewhere. Reactions to our regional weather come natural. I have friends who love a quiet Midwestern snow, some who crave the gentle gray rain in the Pacific Northwest, those who need the sun scorch of the coast like they need the beat of their own heart. For me, I settle into a calm stupor when the weighty clouds commune overhead, seeping with humidity, toiling with the strangely lovely and very telltale scent of rain, gathering and commiserating until finally sacrificing the forceful system down into the earth. Pummeling with lightening and thunder and sheets of unforgiving rain, I am undone.

It never fails to mesmerize, this simple bit of weather. There isn't another place where the rain is quite like this. I've grown to love it, to cuddle up under a blanket and close my eyes and listen. To walk out on the front porch and share the moment with my little son. He is rapidly learning why the rain matters, both to the garden in the back yard and to mommy.

It's almost like everything on Earth is forgiven after a deliciously raucous Georgia rain storm.

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What is your favorite bit of weather from your home land? I'd love to hear about it :)

Hiking up to Amicalola Falls!

Guys, it was harder than I thought it would be.

A lot harder.

Ascending to the top of Amicalola Falls is no simple feat. This 729-foot waterfall is nestled atop a cliff in the southern Appalachian Mountains, and is considered the southeast's tallest cascading waterfall. While my little family was enjoying a mountain getaway in Ellijay last weekend, we decided to hike up to the Falls that I had previously heard so much about. I knew it would be strenuous, especially with a toddler in tow, but we were just crazy/enthusiastic/high on mountain air to gleefully attempt such a feat. And while it was obviously worth is and totally beautiful, I will say that it wasn't easy. Okay, it was downright hard. There, I said it.

Stevie wore Everett in a hiking pack (ours is from REI and is no longer available but see similar here) and I wore a Camelbak (similar here) with all our snacks, water, and of course the camera, and we found ourselves seriously huffing and puffing to get to the top. The 2.1-mile trail begins like a normal hike and then turns into a series of steep, winding staircases that lead you to the top of the falls. I didn't do a great job of photographing the actual stairs (because those were the moments that the camera stayed put away, because well, I was wheezing for the life of me), but now I really wish I had a shot of those rickety stairs that looked like they were leading up to a forest of Heaven. It was quite an experience, climbing those 600-ish steps. Everett did a zillion times better than he did the last time we hiked (thank goodness!), so at least his kicking and screaming wasn't an issue this time around. But even though the trail was seriously challenging, my two boys were happily chattering, singing songs and making animal noises the whole time. Stevie asked Everett about the sounds that really obscure animals make, like giraffes and zebras. Who even knows? But Everett made up some really hideous screeches that he found thrillingly entertaining and proceeded to die laughing and then make more of the same sounds. These two are just peas in a pod these days.

This pack stands up on it's own, even with a kid inside! Such a great gift that we got from our buds Travis and Liz :)

We found a crazy tree. What could possibly have caused it to grow like that??

The pinnacle of the hike was getting up to the falls. However, it was crazy crowded at the top (we are talking swarms of people, children, dogs and trail mix), so we didn't manage to get a good family pic of the three of us at the top. It was actually kind of claustrophobic. But we decided to continue the hike up above the falls and managed to take in this view:

Getting to see this sweeping view of the valley below from up above the trees was incredible. Watching the eagles soar at our eye level was a little eerie and wondrous all at once. We stood there for a long time, drinking in the view and enjoying the lack of swarming hikers. It's moments like these that I'm reminded of just how GREEN the state of Georgia is. And I don't really mean eco-friendly green, I just mean GREEN green. It's the greenest, leafiest, kudzu-iest state.

This is kind of a bad photo of us, but I still love it because this was when we finally reached the top of the mountain and Everett and I plopped down in the middle of the trail and ate fruit snacks. Which he calls "fruit sans". I love how he carefully watched me dole out each bite would immediately demand, "more!" before he even finished his bite. He's something, that little guy. Also, his hat plus tank top just kill me. I bought him more of these tank tops this week.

We came, we hiked, we conquered. It was an awesome experience, one that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in hiking to a gorgeous view and can handle the 600+ stairs that lead up to the falls. I'm sure Stevie would agree that without a toddler on your back screeching "duck sounds" at the top of their lungs, this gig would be much easier to accomplish. But then, what's the fun in that? :)

P.S. - If you into other hiking/camping adventures, check out the time we went glamping with our toddler, and the time I road-tripped and camped across the U.S.

Weekend in Ellijay, Georgia.

We spent Memorial Day weekend on an unexpected trip! I got a wonderfully welcome phone call on Friday evening at 5pm from a dear friend, Dana, letting me know that her mountain cabin was available for the weekend, and she invited us to take advantage of it for the holiday! Best call ever. Stevie and I eagerly packed up Everett and a car load of groceries and headed a few hours north of Atlanta for a weekend in the foothills of the Cohutta Wilderness. And I have to say, it was the best thing we could have done with our weekend. We needed a little family getaway together, to regroup and reflect on the year so far. It's been a busy and surprising one for us, so it was nice to slow down, drink it the gorgeous mountain views and spend time together.

Ellijay is a cozy mountain town with quaint shops and country eats surrounded by apple-laden farms. We enjoyed barbecue at Bigun's BBQ (get the pork plate and the mac and cheese!), fried muscadine and peach pies at Panorama Orchards (I should have doubled my order because WOW), pizza at Bunk's on the Boardwalk (where we ate outside and Everett learned how to play corn hole), and we hiked up to Amicalola Falls, which I will share about in a separate post.

These few pictures are so dear to me, because the moments are far and few between these days that my busy son will actually slow down long enough to snuggle with me. Yeah, maybe I had to play an Elmo game on my phone with him to keep him interested in lounging with me, but I still got to kiss his sweet hair and hold him tight in my arms for more than a few seconds and it felt SO GOOD. This little boy is just my sweetheart. I'm so lucky to be his mom.

Also, the Elmo phase lives on in this house. It's happening in a big way over here :)

One of my favorite parts about the weekend were the lazy mornings we spent on the porch, overlooking the southern swells of the Appalachians. Stevie and I rocked in the chairs, sipped on English Breakfast tea and watched the sun bend around the skyline, which had a quick way of warming the day for us. Everett jumped, hopped, threw sticks and was the picture of boyhood, bored to death with our morning routine and begging to "go outside" (which we technically were) or go in "the white car" (which is his favorite). We finally gave in when the humidity arrived, and got on with the day. But those almost-silent moments one the porch are still sealed in my memory.

We found this crazy perfect wall in downtown Ellijay. It was so intricately patterned with patina and aged layers of paint that it was almost too perfect (if there is such a thing), but we had fun frolicking around because we were on a pizza high. Or maybe it was the mountain air.

There are zero pictures of us as a family from the weekend because either me or Stevie were taking the pictures, and we didn't ask another person to take a group pic for us (what were we thinking?) But oh well. That's just real life, right? I look forward to the day when my little man is big enough to snap a photo for me. Oh the wonder that will be. But Ellijay, goodness, thank you for sharing your mountain top of peace with us - we could have stayed much much longer :) And thank you to Dirk and Dana for sharing your marvelous abode with us! We loved it!

I hope your Memorial Day weekend was wonderful, spent with your loves, remembering those who have served our country and celebrating the start to summer. It's going to be a good one, friends.